INCLASS-Government Facts-Somerset

Question 1

What were local councils ordered to provide under the vagrancy Act in 1547?

Answer 1

to provide housing and collections for those who were impotent or old

Question 2

What year was the Vagrancy Act?

Answer 2

1547

Question 3

Why did Somerset feel that the Vagrancy Act 1547 had to be enacted to maintain?

Answer 3

to maintain the number of poor people which was steadily increasing

Question 4

Why was poor people increasing which was reason for the Vagrancy Act 1547?

Answer 4

due to population growth in cities such as London

Question 5

What did Somerset fear would happen if the number of poor people increased?

Answer 5

disorder and homelessness

Question 6

What did the Vagrancy Act 1547 primarily declare?

Answer 6

it ordered that any able bodied persons who had ben out of work for 3 days were to be branded with a V and sold into slavery for 2 years

Question 7

Under the Vagrancy Act 1547 what would happened to the children of parents who did not work for more than 3 days?

Answer 7

they would be taken and made to work as apprentices

Question 8

What was a positive to the Vagrancy Act 1547?

Answer 8

the conditions were never put into effect

Question 9

as Somerset’s authority had not been granted by parliament, how did he rule?

Answer 9

by Proclamation

Question 10

How did Somerset rule by Proclamation after having not been granted authority by Parliament?

Answer 10

as he had control of the Privy Seal and the Dry Stamp which gave royal authentication to his rulings

Question 11

In less than 3 years, how many proclamations did Somerset make?

Answer 11

70

Question 12

In how many years did Somerset issue 70 proclamations?

Answer 12

3 years

Question 13

Who did Somerset use as his government officials?

Answer 13

his own household servants

Question 14

Who did Somerset bypass during his time as Protectorate?

Answer 14

the Privy Council

Question 15

Where did the council that Somerset frequently met meet rather than at the royal palaces?

Answer 15

at his house

Question 16

What was the nickname of Somerset’s household servants whom he relied upon?

Answer 16

the “new council”

Question 17

What was the activity of Parliament like under Somerset?

Answer 17

there was frequent parliamentary sessions which had been established under the later years of Henry V111

Question 18

What types of laws were Parliament used to pass under Somerset?

Answer 18

religious laws

Question 19

What caused Somerset;s heavy military expenditure?

Answer 19

his overriding concern with the Scottish war which begun under Henry V111

Question 20

How much did the campaigns between 1547-1549 collectively cost?

Answer 20

£580,000

Question 21

What policy was continued at full speed regardless of its inflationary consequences?

Answer 21

the policy of debasement

Question 22

By what year was the country bankrupt?

Answer 22

1549

Question 23

As by 1549 the country went bankrupt, Somerset sold crown lands worth how much?

Answer 23

£800,000

Question 24

How much did Somerset spend on war by 1549?

Answer 24

£1,356,000

Question 25

In what year did government under Somerset begin to tighten control?

Answer 25

1548

Question 26

How did the government under Somerset begin to tighten control in 1548? (2)

Answer 26

spreading rumours became a crime, as did unlawful assembly

Question 27

What was Somerset a keen supporter in?

Answer 27

anti-enclosure methods

Question 28

Where was a commission to investigate enclosures established under John Hales?

Answer 28

in the Midlands

Question 29

Under who’s authority did Somerset entrust the Midlands commission which investigated enclosures?

Answer 29

John Hales

Question 30

When did Somerset issue a proclamation enforcing all statutes against enclosures for grazing?

Answer 30

1548

Question 31

What was the effect of the anti-enclosure commissions on the peasants?

Answer 31

it raised the hopes of peasants who genuinely believed the government was beginning to protect them from the landed classes

Question 32

How did Somerset try to discourage the landowners of enclosing?

Answer 32

by imposing a sheep and cloth tax

Question 33

Why was Henry’s death on the 28th January 1547 kept a secret for 3 days?

Answer 33

in order for the councilors loyal to Edward Seymour (Somerset) to persuade the Council that it was not Henry’s wish to have a collective government of council equals but to have Somerset as virtual regent of the realm under the title of Duke.

Question 34

Where had Somerset achieved high standing and popularity under Henry V111?

Answer 34

for his military successes at Boulogne and Scotland

Question 35

When was the successful Battle of Pinkie?

Answer 35

September 1547

Question 36

How much from 1543-1549 did Henry and Somerset spend on 6 years of warfare with Scotland and France?

Answer 36

£3.5 million